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Criminal Assault Claims and Compensation

If you have been injured because of a criminal assault, you may be able to pursue a claim for damages. Our personal injury solicitors have extensive experience dealing with criminal assault claims.

There are thousands of criminal assaults in the UK every year. They can include violent muggings, sexual assault and unprovoked attacks. If you have suffered as a result of a criminal assault there are generally two ways to claim compensation:

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authorities (CICA)

The CICA is a government organisation that can pay money (compensation) to people who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the blameless victim of a violent crime. They make awards that range from £1,000 to £500,000,

The scheme allows financial awards to be made:

To recognise injuries, physical and mental, due to criminal assault.

In certain circumstances, to obtain compensation for past or future lost earnings or special expenses caused by such a crime

For bereavement as a result of a criminal assault, including, in some cases, compensation for the lost earnings of the person who has been killed.

The CICA has set out several rules. These include:

Your injury must have been caused by a criminal assault that happened in England, Scotland or Wales (Northern Ireland has its own scheme).

Your CICA criminal assault compensation application must be lodged within two years of your assault, although this is discretionary and often waived.

You should have reported the criminal assault to the police and fully co-operated with them.

The state will only provide compensation if your injuries exceed the £1000 tariff.

To be successful in any CICA criminal assault compensation claim, you must be able to prove that you have been the innocent victim of a violent crime. If the CICA considers you to have provoked or willingly participated in the criminal assault, it could refuse or reduce personal injury compensation. This could also happen if you have a record of violence or have a criminal conviction.

Our Claims

The Team acts in a number of criminal assault cases. Good examples are as follows

Jill Greenfield acted for Amanda Lawson who was recovered the highest award of damages for pain and suffering from a civil rape case - one of only a very few civil rape cases ever to be pursued in the UK. You can read more about Amanda's story in the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail. (Lawson v Glaves-Smith, Executor for the Estate of Dawes).

Jennifer Buchanan acted for an individual who obtained the maximum £500,000 award from the CICA for a student, assaulted outside a night club and who will suffer life long problems. Read about it here.

We acted for British Victims of Terrorism caught up in a terrorist bombing in Kusadasi, Turkey in 2005. Jill has also been involved in a successful campaign to introduce a financial support scheme for British victims of terrorism abroad. The scheme was passed into law on 8 April 2010 as part of the Crime and Security Bill. You can read the debate in the House of Lords about the new scheme here.

We also acted for a police worker, Keith Tilbury, who was shot during a training exercise. Jill obtained a six figure sum and an admission of liability for the incident from Thames Valley Police.